Valiant
by Rowanfall
Summary: Valiant knew a hero's life wasn't easy. I mean, look at Robin and Batman for crying out loud! Still, it was the path she chose, and no matter what happened, she stuck to it.
1. Chapter One  Birthday Part I

**Hello there, my fellow Young Justice aficionados! Happy Independence Day, I hope your day was not affected by any ice villains (Ha, see what I did there?) GO WATCH NATIONAL TREASURE! IT'S THE PERFECT PATRIOTIC MOVIE!**

**This fanfic is about the YJ Team with my own little sideki- *elbow* OW! I mean **_**hero. **_**Her name is Brooklyn, so for there to be absolutely ZERO confusion, this chapter is simply going to be her origin chapter. Don't get upset, the story is all outlined out, there'll be a ton of action, and I just gotta get it down on paper.**

**This is my first fanfic, so PLEASE BE GENTLE ON ME!**

**Summary: Brooklyn knew her life wasn't simple. She knew it'd always be complicated. She just never expected it to get **_**this **_**complicated.**

**Key: Italics mean thoughts, bold means bird speak, and bold italics mean translation.**

**PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS, THEY KEEP BROOKE ALIVE!**

**Warning: None really, except for mild language. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice, if I did, I'd fire our schedule guy. I also do not own Nancy Karam, Ziploc, Capri Sun, and Goldfish. BUT I do own Brooklyn Riyadh and her mother Pennsylvania Riyadh.**

**Chapter One**

**Birthday-Part I**

Brooklyn blinked open her eyes, breathing in the sweet smell of kna-fi baking. She jumped out of bed, her whole tiny, short body quivering with excitement. _Today's gonna be special, I just know it!_

It was her tenth birthday.

She ran to the bathroom and rushed through her daily morning habits. She brushed her some-still baby, some grown-up ivory teeth, combed her long, ebony-black hair into a ponytail, and scrubbed her pale face with a mini-loofah. She hummed while prepping herself for the day. The Riyadh family, however small, was a singing family.

Batting her eyes in front of the mirror, she leaned over the sink, balancing her legs off the floor while her rib cage kept her from tilting back, and stared at her weird oblong blue-green eyes. If you looked very closely, you could see a small ringlet of gold encircling each of her inky pupils. She smiled when she spotted it. "Luck of the Irish!" she sang in a squeaky Irish accent, and giggled. Her mother had said, that, even though Brooklyn was just half Mexican and half Phoenician (Middle Eastern minority), somewhere in the family tree a drop of Irish must have sneaked in, resulting in Brooklyn's genetically impossible blue-green eyes. She called the golden ringlets the "Luck of the Irish!"

"Brooklyn!" she heard her mom call. "I think you'd better hurry if you want some kna-fi, Bark and Kjeld are about to eat them all."

Brooklyn gasped as she ran back to room to yank on some jeans and a t-shirt.

Bark and Kjeld were two neighborhood pigeons that strutted back and forth in front of their kitchen window every morning. They never cooed or made any sort of noises, they simply walked up and down the sidewalk. Her mom always threw a little bit of breakfast for them and after a while, Brooklyn decided they needed names.

Bark was a pale brown pigeon, so Pennsylvania thought Bark would be the perfect name for him.

Brooklyn liked the name Kjeld, and since her mom had picked the first name, she was allowed to pick the second.

Pennsylvania Riyadh scattered some of the sweet syrupy Middle Eastern pastry out on to the New York sidewalk. Kjeld and Bark fought over the biggest piece, fluttering crumbs all over the place when they flapped their wings. Pennsylvania looked back into the small kitchen to see if her daughter had arrived, and, after seeing that she hadn't, bent her head out the window and _twittered_ lightly to the two pigeons. **"General Uair, how's King Avito doing? Is there any news to report?**

General Uair (Kjeld) flew to the window and chirped softly to Pennsylvania. **"King Avito has gotten worse, and is near joining his ancestors. The Prince Naj is preparing to take the throne, and there is no sign of any resistance or rebellion. It seems there will be a quiet transition for the crown this time, but we are keeping a close eye, Princess.**

Pennsylvania nodded, her eyes dark and serious, **"Good. Make sure it stays that way, Uair. We don't want another Drak incident."**

"**Yes, Princess." **Uair nodded, his stance respectful and resolute.

Pennsylvania ducked in, hearing her daughter's singing coming closer to the kitchen. **"Good day, General Uair. Thank you for your report." **

Uair nodded without a single sound. He flew back to the ground and continued to peck mindlessly with Lieutenant Jok (Bark).

"Happy birthday, habibi." said Pennsylvania, grinning and engulfing Brooklyn in a bear hug.

"Thanks, Mom. Shrookran allal kna-fi. _**Thank you for the kna-fi.**_" Brooklyn's thanks came out muffled, but her mother heard the words perfectly.

"Teekram ayn-ek. _**Your welcome.**_" Her mother kissed her cheek. "Now, are you going to turn on some music for us?"

Brooklyn grinned, her blue-green eyes sparkling. "I get to pick the music today, right?"

"No duh, little tase. _**Stubborn one. **_I wouldn't have asked you to turn on the music unless you were going to pick today._**" **_Pennsylvania chuckled.

Brooklyn fingered through their CDs. They had a lot of discs, mostly classical music, but there were a few that were a bit special. There was Nancy Karam, an Arabic singer whose voice was amazingly beautiful and underappreciated, a couple of epic soundtracks, piano ensembles, at least three tracks for belly dancing, and Brooklyn's favorite: Spanish and flamenco guitar. Her "Luck of the Irish!" glowed as she put in a CD and deep, rich guitar began to play. She stood at the stereo for a moment, letting the music embed her. She shivered, as though someone had put ice on her shoulders. Some music was just pure power.

She joined her mother at the table and together they did the Sign of the Cross, thanking God for the meal, before eating the sticky sweet kna-fi.

Brooklyn was halfway through her plate and had paused to drink some water when her mom exclaimed, "Shoot, 7: 16! You'll be late for school!"

Brooklyn immediately abandoned her breakfast and ran to collect her backpack. Pennsylvania nimbly made a jelly sandwich and threw some Goldfish crackers into a Ziploc bag. Adding a Capri Sun, she placed them all in a Walgreens sack and tied it up before Brooklyn returned. Brooklyn wasn't surprised; her mother had worked at a restaurant her whole life. Being quick-fingered was part of the job.

"Mom, remember, gymnastics after school!" Brooklyn reminded as her mother pushed her out the door.

Pennsylvania smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, Brooke." She gasped as she looked at her watch. "Now go! You're about to miss the bell."

"Got it!" Brooklyn sprang down the apartment stairs, her mile-long legs eating up the distance quickly, and her "Luck of the Irish!" shining along with the rest of her.

Pennsylvania smiled as she stared after her daughter. "Double-digits already. If only her legs would wait for the rest of her to catch up."

Suddenly a sharp twang pierced her stomach, sending her to the ground. "Oh, great," she winced, "not again, not again." She pulled out her cellphone and dialed one of her servers that worked at the restaurant. "Minnie? It's me, Penny." A greeting issued from Minnie as she questioned her boss as to why she was calling. "I-," she gasped, clutching her stomach. It hurt to speak. "I need you to close the restaurant for today; I think I might need to go the hospital." Minnie obviously was worried, and a long dialogue of concern was spoken over the phone before Pennsylvania intervened, "No, Minnie, I'll be fine. Thanks, though. See you soon." She hung up. Her breath was coming out in gasps and wheezes now. Still lying on her door, she got up from her foyer and stumbled into the apartment. Now the pain had left her stomach, and had traveled up to her ribs. _What's happening? It's never done that before, _she thought. _It doesn't matter; I need to take the serum, now!_

Black dots appeared at the edge of her vision, and Pennsylvania collapsed on the ground.

**Well, peoples, I know this is a tidbit boring, BUT YOU HAVE TO READ IT! The story won't make sense if you don't, so thank you for putting up with it. I will try to have Birthday-Part II up before Friday. Till then, amigos!**

**Please review, it lets me know people are actually reading, and helps keep Brooklyn alive.**


	2. Chapter One Birthday Part II

**Hello again, people who are so patiently waiting for my story! Thank you for the positive feedback, Ash Veran, it did help. Plus my brother's begging me to write more, so I figured I would and go ahead and post it here anyway. **

**I hope you all had an awesome Independence Day! We had two defective fireworks; one flew straight into our lake, the other exploded in front of us. But my family and friends are all okay, despite minor burns. **

**SO, HERE IS BIRTHDAY-PART II!**

**Key: Italics for thoughts, bold for avian speak, and bold italics for translation (from Arabic).**

**Warning: None. IT'S RATED T FOR LATER VIOLENCE PEOPLE! So shut up please.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN YOUNG JUSTICE, no matter how badly I want to. But I do own Brooklyn Riyadh, Pennsylvania Riyadh, Asia Cloudwell, Coach Zane, Koleah Mantle, and Danielle Howell.**

**P.S. Keep an eye out for a special guest. **

**Chapter One**

**Birthday-Part II**

Brooklyn sat on the ground, bending over as her best friend, Asia, slowly pressed down on her back.

"Just tell me when, Brooke." Asia said.

Brooklyn closed her eyes, trying to ignore the pangs from her muscles. "Okay! Okay, that's enough Asia, it hurts!"

Asia laughed as she released the pressure off of Brooklyn's back. "I told you so. Coach said we weren't supposed to these types of stretches yet." Her black-brown eyes gleamed as she smiled smugly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Brooklyn got up and stretched toward the sky, "Asia, one, Brooke, zip. I just wanted to do good today."

Asia, nodded, understanding. "I know. Competitions are exciting. Has your mom showed up yet?"

Brooke's nervous expression enhanced. "No. She promised she would though."

"Maybe something came up?" Asia suggested.

Before Brooke could respond, a loud whistle pierced the air. Coach Zane walked into the gym, her hands on her hips. "All right, everybody. I want the balance beams out there first, followed by the vaults, and last but not least the floor exercisers. But before we perform tonight…" Coach Zane held out her hands as her gymnastics students gathered into a circle around her.

Everyone held hands and closed their eyes. "Dear God," Coach Zane prayed, "thank you so much for this amazing experience, for these wonderful students, and for helping the Guardsmen make it this far. Please, Lord, help us be fair sportsmen during the competition, and we pray that everyone will learn as much as they can from each other. In the name of God, Amen."

"Amen." Echoed her students as they dispersed, those going first making their way to the door.

Asia giggled as she trembled slightly. "I'm going first, Brooke! I'm one of the balance beams."

Brooke smiled and squeezed her friend's hand. She was a vault, and would be going second. "Good luck! Oh, and tell me if you see my mom, okay?" Brooke asked as Asia turned to leave.

"Sure!" The African-American girl called over her shoulder, her black hair swinging excitedly.

Brooke sighed; the gym was much quieter after the b-beams left. They were the largest group.

She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself; she was wearing her gymnastics uniform, and she felt very cold.

_Maybe some more stretches will help. I'm probably just nervous. Who wouldn't be nervous on their first competition? _

Brooke bent down to touch the floor without bending her knees, which was pretty difficult for her. _My legs are way too tall and gawky, like a baby giraffe's._ Despite her legs, she was actually a bit on the short side. As she strained her muscles, she couldn't help wondering, _where's my Mom?_

* * *

><p>Asia came back, her face downcast.<p>

Brooke ran over to her friend from the gym mat she had been stretching on. "How'd you do? What was it like? Was it scary? Asia, what happened? Did you do good?" She bombarded her friend with questions.

Asia sighed. "I fell! Right in front of everybody, I tripped and fell!"

Brooke gasped, "You fell off the balance beam?" _That's gotta hurt her score._

"No," Asia shook her head. "It was _after_ I got off the beam. I turned around to wave to the crowd and tripped over my own feet! I looked like an idiot."

Brooke stared at her, her mouth open, "Asia, you're a complete perfectionist. You know the judges only score you on your performance on the beam! How'd you do on the beam, silly?"

Asia perked up. "Not bad. I went through my routine without any problems. I was off-angled when I did my flip though. I should have been more focused and I shouldn't have-"

Brooke rolled her eyes and put her hand over her friend's mouth. "You did great Asia. You know you did."

Coach Zane stuck her head through the door, "Vaults! You guys are up!"

Brooke shivered. _This is it. _

"Good luck!" Asia whispered. "You'll kick butt; you're the best at vault, everyone knows it."

"Thanks, Asia," Brooke suddenly remembered something. "Did you see my mom?"

Asia's happy expression faded. "Um, no. I'm sure she'll be here, though. Just focus on the vault, Brooke. She'll be here."

"Brooke!" called another vault, a 14-year old named Koleah. "Come on! Coach said the best's going first; we all know that means you!"

"You can do it Brooke!" Asia shouted as Brooke ran out after Koleah.

* * *

><p>Brooke' eyes were closed as she breathed in and out, chalky hand dust floating in the air. She gripped the pole, feeling the bareness scrape her callused hands. She inhaled quickly through her nose and opened her eyes.<p>

She lurched herself upwards, her hands gripping the pole in a deadlock, and swung powerfully, the thin pole bending under her weight. After gaining enough momentum, she vaulted herself straight into the air and twirled backwards, her arms pressed closely to her body. Seconds before her legs hit the floor; her arms shot out and grabbed the pole again, her palms burning against the cold, raw metal.

Again she swung, hanging on to the pole, to gain momentum. She breathed in, the world around her spinning, before letting go.

She flipped in the air, once, twice, and grabbed the pole, her lifeline, the only thing between her and the floor.

Smiling, she completed her routine.

No one knew their score until the end of the competition, but Brooke had confidence in herself. _I hope I at least place. I mean, I'm only ten! Besides, the Archers have got their own prize vaults. _

Brooke glanced over to the bench on the other side of the auxiliary gym. The Archers, which were from another district, had Marie, a redheaded 17-year old with a fierce passion for vault. It'd been whispered in the locker rooms that Marie was unbeatable; this was her 22st competition, and she'd placed first in 15 of them.

Brooke made her way to the Guardsmen bench and sat down, breathing heavily.

Koleah came over and sat down next to her, "Brooke, that was awesome! You are going to totally place!"

Brooke smiled, "Thanks, Koleah."

"Number 54, number 54." The loudspeaker announced.

"That's me, I better go," Koleah shivered noticeably.

"Good luck, Koleah. You'll do fine."

Koleah just nodded absentmindedly as she made her way to the vault.

Brooke turned toward the spectators, her eyes traveling over everyone, searching for one person in particular. She sighed. _Mom, where are you? How could you forget?_

* * *

><p>She'd placed eighth.<p>

Brooke had stood there gaping when the loudspeaker announced her number, 57, and asked her to come to the front of the gym with the other vaults that'd placed.

_Wow. Placing in my first competition!_

One other vault from the Guardsmen, Danielle, a 16-year old, had placed too. Third.

And Marie from the Archers, of course.

Up close, Marie looked very pretty. Her eyes were creamy brown, and her red hair had white streaks in the front. She nodded when Brooke stood next her, a smile playing on her face. 'Hey, kid." She'd whispered.

Brooke bristled. She wasn't a kid! It's not like Marie was a 25-year old pro or anything!

Then Brooke looked at the others who'd placed. She was the youngest one there. _Oh. Okay, maybe she has a right to call me kid._

Marie placed first. No surprise there.

But Brooke had placed eighth! That was unheard of for a ten-year old!

_Awesome! I can't wait to tell Mom!_

Her heart sank a little. _Why she couldn't have been here to see this?_

The Guardsmen were ecstatic that their little Brooke had placed. But what surprised Brooke was that the other three districts, the Archers, the Kingsmen, and the Spartans, were pretty happy about it too.

Marie came up to her and congratulated her, "Keep it up, kid. Ya'll got some mighty fine vault skills."

Brooke grinned, her eyes sparkling. "Thank you." She murmured softly.

She'd overheard the other coaches talking to Coach Zane. "That's one heck of a ten-year old. The way she executed her first vault, it was like watching myself when I was eighteen. _Eighteen._ And this is a ten-year old?" He whistled softly. "She's going places, this little girl."

Asia wouldn't shut up. "Oh. My. Gosh. Brooke you placed!" she kept squealing. "My best friend _placed! _Do you know the bragging rights you've got right now? On your first competition too! Brooke, you could place _first_ someday!" Suddenly she lowered her voice to a whisper, "You could go the Olympics!" Her eyes darted back and forth excitedly.

Brooke rolled her eyes and laughed. "Asia, you're crazy."

"I'm serious! Hey, do you have a ride home? We could take you if you want." She offered.

'No, thanks. I'll walk." Brooke shook her head.

_Something must have happened. Mom wouldn't s__kip my first competition without a good reason. She doesn't just forget things._

* * *

><p>Brooke's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and doubts as she walked home in the twilight of New York.<p>

_Maybe she had to stay at the restaurant. By why would she have had to stay? She could've asked Minnie to manage The Oasis while she was gone. Maybe Minnie was sick and Mom had to stay to look after it because she couldn't really ask anyone else._

A streetlamp flickered on above her and the shadows grew longer as people made their way home.

_What if something bad happened?_

A taxi honked loudly, interrupting her worry. She breathed in deep. _I'm sure everything is fine. She probably just had to stay with the restaurant. I mean, what could happen?_

* * *

><p>Brooke unlocked the door to the apartment, and began to open it.<p>

But she couldn't.

Something was blocking the way.

_What the?_

She put her shoulders against the door and shoved hard.

The door swung open and Brooke nearly fell in-

On top of her unmoving mom.


	3. Chapter One Birthday Part III

**I hope you guys liked B-day Part II! Here's the grande finale, Part III, and YES! WE WILL FINALLY SEE SOME YJ CHARACTERS! So shut up please. Thank you. **

**THANK YOU WITH ALL MY HEART THOSE FEW WHO REVIEWED! You totally inspired this chapter.**

**Key: Italics for thoughts, bold for avian speak, and bold italics for translation (from Arabic).**

**Warning: Character death. Here's where the T rating starts to come in.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice, but if I did we wouldn't have to wait till August for new episodes, and my favorite authors would be writing the script. And the music would be so epic. I do own Brooklyn Riyadh, Pennsylvania Riyadh, St. Rita's Hospital in New York, New York, and a whole mess of other people (doctors, cops, nurses, lawyers). **

**Chapter One**

**Birthday-Part III**

Brooke nearly screamed.

She remembered a rule right before she did though.

_Don't ever panic when there's an emergency._

Her breath came out in neat little gasps as she tried to calm herself. _Okay. Okay. Calm down. First things first._

She kneeled down and shook her mom's shoulders. "Mom? Mom, wake up. Wake up, Mom. _Please _wake up!"

Lightly, Brooke tapped her shoulder. She leaned down to her ear and shouted, "Mom! Wake up!"

_Please, God, wake her up._

Pennsylvania didn't stir. Brooke leaned down and pressed her head to her chest.

She sighed in relief. She felt her heartbeat. _Okay, okay. That's good. Now, now, um…_

For a moment Brooke was totally unsure of what to do next. _Should I call Minnie? Or the hospital? Minnie. No, wait. What if it's something serious?_

_Hospital, _she decided.

The stereo was still on, softly playing mellow guitar. Brooke grabbed the house phone and dialed 911. Turning off the stereo and fingering the phone cord, she nervously waited for someone to pick up. She didn't feel very good. _I'm not going to cry. Everything will be fine. I'm not going to cry. _

"911, what is your emergency?" came the feminine voice, high and scratchy.

"Um, uh, my name is Brooklyn Riyadh; I came home a few minutes ago and found my mom on the ground. She's unconscious. I think she, um, needs to go to the hospital." Her voice came out uneven and ragged. She couldn't help it, she felt choked, like she was going to cry. She bit her tongue, holding it back. _I can't cry; the lady won't understand me if I do._

"Has she been taking any drugs or alcohol recently?"

"Um, no, I don't think so." _She does take Tylenol. Does Tylenol count? _"She does take Tylenol." Brooke added.

The voice on the other end paused. "Sweetie, how old are you?"

"Ten."

A long sigh. "Ten. Okay. Do you know your home address?"

"Uh, yeah. We live in an apartment. 360 West 43rd Street."

"Okay. Don't panic sweetheart. We're sending an ambulance to your location. They'll be there soon."

"Okay." Brooke replied. She turned to look at her mom on the floor. _I'm not going to panic. Everything's gonna be fine. _

But no matter how much she tried to calm herself, there was an awful little nagging inside her. _What if everything's _not_ gonna be fine? What if Mom's really hurt? What if she, she…_

Brooke shook her head, not allowing herself to think like that. "Enough. Mom'll be fine. It's probably nothing."

But one more little morbid thought snuck through.

_What will happen to me?_

* * *

><p>Brooke was crying. She let the tears come freely now. It made her feel a little bit better to let them all out.<p>

_It's been two hours. Why don't they let me see her?_

Two, long, agonizing hours.

Brooke had prayed with her whole heart those two hours. _Please, God. Don't let Mom go. I still need her. Please watch over her and protect her. Please, God, please. _

She felt sick in her stomach and her throat.

A nurse, a skinny African-American lady, came over to her, offering a sticker. "Ah, don' cry none, honey. It' don' make ya feel any bettah, jus' a whole lotta wetness and sniffles. I'm Miss Howell. Wha's your name?"

Brooke looked up from her chair, slowly taking the little yellow-and-black sticker. It had Batman's emblem on it. _Mom's favorite hero. _"Br-Brooke." She said, her breath ragged from crying.

"Well, hello there, Miss Brooke. I've got someone here who'd like to see ya. Why don' you come wi' me, honey?"

Brooke stared at the sticker before peeling off the adhesive and pasting it on her shirt. "Okay." She nodded as she got up and followed Miss Howell.

The nurse led to her to another waiting room. Inside were two tall men. One stood up immediately as Miss Howell came into the room. He wore a business suit, and had very black hair. His eyes were deep blue.

Brooke couldn't help staring at his stormy eyes. She tilted her head and squinted. Her father had been very good at telling what other people were like, and what they were feeling. Brooke had that skill too. _He's kind, but sad, _she concluded. Her heart caught in her throat.

The other man stood up a second after noticing the first man get up. He seemed a little shorter than the first man, and, more, well, happy-looking. He had cheerful brown eyes and short brown hair. Instead of wearing a business suit, he had on jeans and a t-shirt.

Brooke didn't stare at him and try to figure out his emotions. Her eyes were fixed on the first man.

_No, no, no, no, NO!_

"Is my mom dead?" she burst into more tears as she shouted out those horrible words.

The second man's eyes widened.

The first man came and bent down in front of her. He gripped her by her shoulders and brushed her hair away from her face. Her ponytail was a fuzzy mess now.

"No, Brooklyn. Your mom is okay. She's fine." He held her to his chest in a warm hug.

Brooke sighed in relief. It was as if someone had poured soothing cold water all over her.

_She's okay. She's okay. Mom's okay. She's okay. _

She breathed heavily and contentedly into his shoulder.

A doctor came into the room and whispered something into Miss Howell's ear. Her eyes widened and she left quickly.

He turned around, his milky green eyes tired. "Brooklyn?"

Brooke looked up, her tearstained face red and shiny.

The doctor glanced at her, his eyes half-open and depressing. He looked at the men. "Is one of you two her father?"

"Is something wrong?" Brooke interrupted before either of the strangers could say no.

The doctor glanced at her again, his depressing eyes suddenly filled with pity. "Your mother has just passed away. I was inquiring as to who would be your caretaker now, since she left no will."

Brooke slowly turned back to the black-haired man, whose arms were still around her.

Her eyes darted back and forth as she searched his face for some sort of explanation. _But, he-he…he just said that..._

"LIAR!" she screamed, pounding her fists on his chest. "You're a LIAR!" She cried as her heart tore in two. "You told me she was fine! You lied!" _This isn't true. This is a mistake. My mom's fine. He said so, right?_

She looked back at the doctor, pleading for there to please be a mistake, some sort of misinformation. He just stared back at her, his green eyes apologetic. Brooke shook her head as she choked out a sob. _It's true! Oh, God, no…_

She buried her face back in the stranger's shoulder. Her throat felt dry and scratchy. _How did this happen? How _could_ this happen? This has got to be some kind of nightmare or something… People don't just die!_

The dark-haired man stood up, carrying her. He turned toward the doctor, the second man right behind him. "Dr. Kerstin, I'd like to take Brooke home now. I've already spoken to the police and Pennsylvania's lawyer in case this would happen, and I've taken full legal custody of Brooke-"

"Now, hold on just a minute, Mr., ah, Mr.-"

"Wayne," he said, extending a free hand, the other on Brooke's back. "Bruce Wayne."

Dr. Kerstin's dull eyes seemed surprised, but he shook Mr. Wayne's hand firmly.

Suddenly Miss Howell walked back in with a policewoman and another man in a business suit.

"Ah, Miss Howell," said Dr. Kerstin. "Mr. Wayne, this is Officer –"

"Officer DeSmith. I know. I have already spoken to the police, and to Mr. Reynolds." He gestured toward the other man in the suit. Mr. Wayne seemed impatient and a little angry. "We've already been through this Dr. Kerstin-"

"Um, Bruce?" said the second man, the one with the cheerful brown eyes. "Why don't you give me Brooke while you work this out?"

Mr. Wayne nodded and placed Brooke into the second man's arms. She felt feverish and looked exhausted. _What's going to happen to me? _Her thoughts rushed around her head a million miles an hour. She heard every word being discussed about her by Mr. Wayne and the doctor and the nurse and the police and the lawyer, but she didn't want Mr. Wayne to be her guardian. _I don't want _anyone_ to be my guardian. I want my Mom!_

"I want Mom," she whimpered into the second man's shoulder, crying and breathing raggedly.

"Shhh, it's okay, Brooke," softly he brushed her hair. "Bruce'll take care of you. He's a good guy." He looked at her, his brown eyes filled with gentleness and understanding. Brooke knew Mr. Wayne was a good guy. She knew he was kind. And deep down inside herself, she knew that he hadn't lied on purpose.

"My name is Hal Jordan. I was a friend of your mother's. So was Bruce." He turned back to Mr. Wayne, who was arguing with the doctor.

"My, my mom never mentioned you." Brooke said, her eyes still wet and her breath still ragged. She was starting to calm down; the tears no longer fell so strongly. She'd remembered where her mom was now. She was in heaven. She wasn't totally dead; she was just, well, home. She was in a different place.

Brooke closed her eyes and pressed her head against Mr. Jordan's chest. She still cried, because even though it comforted her to believe that her mom was safe in heaven and that she would see her again someday; she missed her. She missed her a lot. She wanted her mom to be here to comfort her; not Mr. Jordan, even though he was very kind. She wanted her mom to hug her and kiss her forehead and hum a song.

She just wanted to close her eyes and wake up from this awful, awful nightmare.

**Well, my friends, thank you for reading and waiting so patiently. I've been having writer's block so this has taken a while. Plus I have summer homework and soon we will be going to Florida and Comic-Con, but I will still try to post one chapter a week. See you soon!**

**PLEASE REVIEW! It inspires and keeps Brooke alive!**


	4. Chapter Two Valor Part I

**Hello people! Here's Chapter Two, where everything starts to make sense, so YAY!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice, but I own Brooke and Endeavour!**

**Warning: Corpses.**

**Chapter Two**

**Valor-Part I**

Brooke blinked open her eyes, feeling tired and cramped. _I must have dozed off._ She let out a huge yawn, trying to stretch as far as she could in the small chair.

_Wait. Chair?_

Brooke looked around in confusion at the large room. More chairs lined the wall, and in the center was a low table with crinkly magazines. A small TV played quietly in the corner, the news anchor reporting blackouts in parts of Germany.

_Where am I?_

Then it all came back. Her birthday, gymnastics, the hospital, Miss Howell, Mr. Jordan and Mr. Wayne…

Her mom.

"Mom," she whimpered. A small sob escaped as she pulled up her sleepy knees and cried into them. Disbelief shook her entire body. It didn't seem possible for everything that had happened today _to_ have happened. It didn't seem possible for her mom to be, be…

The memory of their last conversation pulsed miserably in her mind.

"_Mom, remember, gymnastics after school!" She'd reminded as her mother pushed her out the door._

_Her mom smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, Brooke." _

Brooke cried harder, the sobs racking her tiny frame. _I never told her I loved her! I wasn't with her when she left for heaven…_

"Brooke?" she felt a gentle hand on her back. She looked up into the sad face of Mr. Wayne, who had come and sat beside her. But she saw something else besides sadness in his expression. Something, something odd. _I can't place my finger on it, though…_

Brooke wiped her eyes, trying to stop crying. "Y-yes, Mr. Wayne?"

He held out his hand. "We're leaving now. We're going to Gotham." His voice was very gentle, as if he were afraid of speaking too roughly.

She shook her head fiercely and squeezed her eyes shut. "No! I'm not leaving my home! I'm not leaving New York!" After everything that'd happened today, she wasn't going to just up and go on top of it. _No way._

"Brooke, look at me," he took her tiny hand, enveloping it in a soft grip.

She shook her head again, yanking her hand away from his. "I'm not going. Not-not until…" she paused, unsure of her decision. "Not until I see her. See for sure myself." She opened her eyes and glared up at his tall, intimidating profile, as if daring him to say no.

He stared back at her burning, oceanic eyes, the golden circle around her pupil a little lightning bolt.

Mr. Wayne sighed, then nodded, his face serious. "Come with me," he held out his hand again, and, after a moment's hesitation, Brooke took it.

He led her through hallway after hallway, going through the endless corridors of the hospital.

During that walk, Brooke knew that hospitals would always scare her. Especially after…after…

Brooke closed her eyes, stumbling over her feet for a minute.

_In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit._

Silently, still walking, she did the Sign of the Cross.

Mr. Wayne watched her out of the corner of his eye.

_Dear God, I'm scared._

She walked on.

_I'm scared about what'll happen now._

Softly, still walking, tears leaked out of her closed eyes.

_I miss my mom, God. Please tell her that. Tell her I miss her so much. And God…_

"Brooke," Mr. Wayne interrupted, his voice a quiet whisper.

_Please help and protect me._

She opened her eyes.

Brooke squeezed Mr. Wayne's hand tightly.

In front of them was a large clear window showing a pale gray room. And in the room were row after row of corpses on cold steel gurneys.

The corpses were covered by white clothes from head to toe, except for the most recent one.

Directly in front of them was her mother's body, the head uncovered.

Her eyes were closed, her skin and lips pale blue. Her dark hair fell around her unnaturally pale face.

Brooke pressed her other hand on glass, crying silently, her eyes wide, her mouth in a little "o".

Mr. Wayne said nothing.

After a few moments, Brooke turned and wrapped her arms around Mr. Wayne's waist, burying her face into his clothes. He knelt down and took her into his arms.

"I-I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I just want to go home. Please take me home."

He picked her up and began the long walk to the exit.

Brooke had her arms around his neck and breathed raggedly, trying to stop her tears.

"T-thank you, Mr. Wayne," she whispered, her voice weak and hoarse from crying.

"You're welcome." He replied.

"Are we going to Gotham?" she asked, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands.

"Yes."

She said nothing. She felt dazed. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she felt strange calm wash over her. _Mom's in heaven, now. It'll be okay. Mr. Wayne will take care of me. _

_Everything's going to be okay._

_Death's not the end. It's a new beginning, right?_

_A new beginning._

* * *

><p>It was a quiet car ride.<p>

The moon's craterous face smiled palely over the long highway, and not many cars drove through the night. Behind them, the dark sky was tinged yellow from the retreating lights of New York.

Mr. Wayne didn't say much, and neither did she.

He did ask her if she was hungry.

Brooke shook her head. She hadn't eaten in hours, but she felt if she ate she would throw up.

More silence.

Mr. Wayne sighed softly. "I have a foster son around your age-"

"Will I have to change my last name?" she interrupted, turning toward him.

"No. Not if you don't want to. You could stay Brooklyn Riyadh, or become Brooklyn Riyadh-Wayne." He never took his eyes off the empty black road ahead.

She was silent for a moment, pondering this information. "What did your foster son do?" she asked.

"He kept his original name, Grayson."

She faced the road, leaning back in her seat. "I'll stay Brooklyn Riyadh, then."

He said nothing.

* * *

><p>It was darker in Gotham than in New York. New York was always busy, always bright and loud and full of people.<p>

Gotham was quiet, the streets deserted and the lights few and far in between. Shady figures darted out from underneath lampposts, casting long shadows over the dim alleyways. Gotham was creepy.

_I wish I was back in New York._

She bit her lower lip, her eyes starting to burn. _Not gonna cry, I'm not going to cry. _

_I miss her. I miss her so much. _

Brooke tried to ignore the last image of her mother that kept popping up in her head. Instead, she focused on her mother's voice.

Her singing voice.

It had always been so beautiful, so constant; even when she had a stuffy nose and a sore throat, her voice was still there. Clear, warm, and inspiring.

Her voice always made her feel so brave!

_Courageous Brooklyn, my dear page, thee have saved my kingdom by slaying the terrible griffin. I now proclaim thee the first female knight ever to grace my kitchen! I christen thee, Lady Valiant, for your bravery in destroying this monster. You may rise, Lady Valiant._

A smile tugged on Brooke's mouth as she remembered the Griffin.

_The Griffin was a loud, grumpy refrigerator in The Oasis that terrified Brooke. She was always afraid to open it, or even come near it._

_One day, her mom noticed._

"_Sing when you're scared or alone. Your voice gives you some company, and if you make it so, some bravery."_

_The next time Minnie asked for some parsley for tabbouleh, Brooke tried it._

_She stood three feet away from the fridge, squeezed her eyes shut, and sang a song she'd made up, with the help of Winnie the Pooh._

"_And the rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down, _

_Upon the mean old fridge_

_And then I said_

_Leave me alone_

_And he fell off a bridge!"_

_Brooke ran up to the Griffin, took out a bunch of parsley, and ran back to Minnie, her eyes still shut. She opened them and stared at the parsley and at Minnie with a look of pure astonishment on her face. "Whoa. It worked! Minnie, it worked!"_

_Minnie let out a squeaky squawky laugh and took the parsley. _

_Her mother, wearing an apron and brandishing a wooden cooking spoon, a wide smile on her face, knighted her then and there, in front of Minnie and the other servers and chefs._

"_I christen thee, Lady Valiant!"_

"We're here." Mr. Wayne's gruff voice jolted her out of her memories.

_Whoa._

Brooke stared at Mr. Wayne's humongous house with her mouth slightly open. _And he shares this house with only one other person? Double whoa!_

Trees created a tiny forest around the house- no, mansion_- _and gates guarded the entrance. Pure white marble and wood made up the majority of the structure, while impending windows and oak front doors made up the rest. It was elaborately decorated, with balconies and wrought-iron fences, but what stood out the most was the overall _hugeness _of the mansion.

The car pulled past the gates, which opened with a special code, into the driveway and eeked into a slow stop in front of the garage. He twisted out the keys and opened his door.

"We'll, um," he paused. "We'll go back to your apartment tomorrow to get your things. I thought, for now, since it's so late, it'd be best for you to rest here and get used to it." He got out and walked over to her door to open it for her.

_Get used to it? _Her eyes started to wet.

She got out of the car and stepped on the concrete of her new home.

Mr. Wayne gently put his hand on her back and guided her to the door.

"You're going to tell her now, aren't you?" A loud voice spoke above them, making Brooke jump a little and look up. _What was that?_

"Oh, great." Mr. Wayne muttered softly under his breath.

"Well, aren't you?" A large, tawny gold bird flew down from one of the windows balconies and perched in front of them. His beak was opening and closing.

_His beak was opening and closing._

Brooke stared, her eyes wide. _Is-is that bird talking?_

The bird turned his head and smiled. "Ah, hello, Princess. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Endeavour." He extended his wings and bowed nobly.

_Oh, yeah, that bird is most definitely talking. _

"Get out of here Endeavour," Mr. Wayne growled. "It's not time for her to know."

"Of course it is," Endeavour resumed his stance, staring at Mr. Wayne as if he was some sort of peasant, and he was the king. "Her mother was going to tell her soon. Now's a better time than never. Besides, she's bound to have some questions." He turned pointedly to the girl. "Like how her mother knew you, for example."

"I bet the only question she has right now is why a bird is talking to her." Mr. Wayne was fuming.

_What's going on? _Brooke stared at the bird, who was talking to her, calling her a princess, and back at Mr. Wayne, who looked like he wanted to strangle the bird and roast him in an oven.

The bird huffed, exasperated. "I am not a bird, I am an _avian_. I am the only avian who can communicate with humans; and _she, _as of six hours ago, is the only human who can communicate with avians. So, _Bruce_," he spat out the name as if it was something disgusting, "I suggest you watch your terms when talking to me."

"Shut up and get out." Mr. Wayne snarled.

"No." said the bird. "I will not leave. Princess," he turned to her, effectively ending the argument with Mr. Wayne. "Do you have any idea who you are?"

She shook her head, dazed.

"Of course you don't. After all the lengths the previous Princess made us go through, God rest her soul, it'd be a miracle if you knew." The bird shook his head slightly, as if he had a huge task ahead of him. He sighed softly. "A miracle if you knew."

"W-wait. Knew what? What are you talking about? Who's the Princess?" _I am so confused!_

"Why, _you_, dear girl. _You_ are the Princess, as your mother was before you. Perhaps you know her by the name Valor. That is what the human world calls her."

Brooke stared at the bird. _W-what? _"M-my mom, was, was Valor? A member of the Justice League?" She couldn't believe this.

"A founding member." Endeavour corrected.

"Is this a kind of joke?" she turned angrily at Mr. Wayne, who had given up arguing and was watching the entire exchange silently. "Be-because it's not funny." She choked out the last word, her throat closing up and her eyes watering.

He shook his head, his expression even more serious than it had been before. "It's no joke, Brooke. Endeavour is telling the truth. Your mother was Valor, a founding member of the League."

"Oh, and your what, Batman? The Dark Knight of Gotham?" She spat out, confused and frustrated. _Why would my mom lie to me about something so important? This is just some sort of stupid prank._

Mr. Wayne looked sheepish. "Well, I'm not actually called the Dark Knight of Gotham, most people usually just go by Batman."

Brooke gawked at him, and back at Endeavour. She pinched her arm, hard. "Ow," she muttered.

_Oh my gosh. This isn't a dream._

**Yay! Brooke finally found out who she was! So, read and review, people, I'll try to post more next Sunday.**


	5. Chapter Two Valor Part II

**So, I am very sorry I didn't get this in sooner, we've been on the road and I haven't had Internet in a while. This is Part 2 of Chapter 2, in which we meet some very lovable characters (hint hint!) It's one of my favorites; personally, I just love creating the detail for Wayne Manor, lol. So, enjoy, people, the next chapter should be up a lot sooner (because it's awesome and it explains just about everything!)**

_**This chapter is dedicated to my wonderful cousin Georgina,**_

_**who competed with Australia and placed first**_

_**in the 10**__**th**__** International Dragon Boat Championship yesterday.**_

**Chapter Two**

**Valor-Part II**

Mr. Wayne sighed. "I knew we shouldn't have told her. I told you, Endeavour, but you never listen. You never shut your damned beak long enough to hear what others have to say!" He pounded his fist on his desk.

"Don't act as though I'm a fool. I refuse to lie to the girl. Who will become the new human representative for Avia in the Senate? With all the uprisings and riots nowadays, it is more important than ever that our kingdom is voiced. I cannot do everything. She _needs_ to know." Endeavour stared coldly at Mr. Wayne, his voice mounting with frustration.

"She's a ten-year old kid who just lost her mother! You can't expect her learn everything and then rush into being a princess! She has no training!"

"And Avia is a struggling nation that has just lost both its King and its Crown Prince to rebels! We are reduced to crowning a fledgling heir as king! A _fledgling_!"

Brooke hugged her knees to her chest, feeling dazed, confused, and miserable. She sat on a small red-and-gold couch filled with thick fluffy pillows; surrounded by dark oak walls and tall grandly framed paintings. She sniffed, trying to ignore the loud shouts coming from the other room as Mr. Wayne and Endeavor argued.

She felt wet when she rubbed her eyes, and realized she was crying. _I think they're telling the truth. That look in their eyes, and the way their voices sound, and well, well, I don't know! I don't know why I think so, exactly, I just do! I hope they aren't though. I hope with all my heart that they're lying._

She buried her face in her arms and cried harder, her sobs muffled, but loud. _I won't believe she lied to me. How could my mom be Valor? How? It doesn't make sense! She doesn't lie, she's never lied! _

_So what's going on? Why is Mr. Wayne calling himself Batman? Why is there a bird calling me Princess? _

She lifted her head, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Loud shouts were still echoing in the office, leaking out the closed door. She covered her ears with her hands and squeezed her eyes shut. _I don't want to hear them anymore! _

"Why, hello there, young miss," said a warm, elderly voice with a British accent, slightly muffled because of her hands on her ears. "We've been expecting you."

Brooke looked up, her mouth slightly open. In front of her was a tall man wearing a dark red robe. He had a snowy white mustache and a horseshoe of gray-and-white hair around his head. His eyes were dark brown, like the oak walls surrounding them. Standing next to him was a boy, a little bit taller than her, with black hair and rainy blue eyes. He wore red too, but bright red pajamas instead of a robe.

The British man held out his hand. "My name is Alfred, and this is Master Richard Grayson." He gestured toward the boy. "We're glad you'll be staying with us, miss."

"Dick," the boy said, holding out his hand. "People call me Dick."

Brooke sniffed, and then shook Alfred's hand and Dick's. She stayed on the couch. "I'm Brooklyn Riyadh, b-but people call me Brooke." She said, her voice hoarse and squeaky.

Alfred glanced at the door to the office, where a loud _crash! _of breaking glass could be heard, followed by unintelligible shouts and accusations. He sighed through his nose, shaking his head. He turned back to Brooke, a smile on his face. "Well then, Miss Brooke, would you like something to eat?"

Brooke shook her head hesitantly, and at that exact moment a loud growl came from her stomach. _I haven't eaten since before gymnastics._

Dick snickered, and Alfred glared at him before turning back to Brooke. He glanced at her with an eyebrow cocked. "You needn't be shy, Miss Brooke. After all, you are our guest. Come," he held out a thin hand. "I'm sure we can find something in the kitchen. Perhaps a cup of hot chocolate?"

A little grin tugged Brooke's jaws; the golden ringlet in her eyes glowed softly. She took his wrinkly hand in her smooth one, and stood up. "O-okay." She murmured. _I _am_ hungry. Besides, I can tell that he's nice._

Brooke stared at the boy, Dick, as Alfred led them to the kitchen. _He's nice too, but I think he's hiding something…_

Brooke could've smacked herself on the forehead. _Of course! If Mr. Wayne _is_ Batman, then Dick is Robin! Duh! _Her heart sank as she made this observation.

They walked through long hallways decorated with vases and statues, and rooms filled with bookcases and chairs and sofas and desks and tables and all sorts of fancy faraway things. Moonlight filtered in from the windows, and the three figures cast long foreboding shadows over the walls. The silver-white chandeliers dangling from above were unlit.

_It's very dark. _

Brooke stayed close to Alfred. _This place feels cold. How do Alfred and Mr. Wayne and Dick live here? It's so empty and huge!_

_How am I going to live here?_ Her lower lip trembled.

"Here we are," said Alfred as they finally made it to the kitchen. He flicked on the light.

Unlike the rest of the manor, it was small and cozy. Warm beige granite and pale cream willow made up the counters and shelves, and jars and glasses filled with spices lined up along the walls.

It felt like an actual part of a home.

Brooke breathed in softly. _It smells like peppermint in here. _She stretched up her tiptoes, letting the entire place tremble underneath her feet.

"Now, then, would you like a cookie with your drink, Miss Brooke?" Alfred asked as her took powdered chocolate from the pantry.

Brooke nodded shyly, "Yes, please."

"And you, Master Dick?"

"Sure, thanks Alfred," he replied.

As Alfred busied himself heating up the milk, Dick turned towards Brooke. "How old are you?" he asked.

"Nine. Well, actually ten. Ten today." She answered, feeling a pang in her heart. _Today should've been happy. _Her eyes started to wet, but she held them back. "What about you?"

"Nine," he grumbled. "But I'll be ten in December. Do you want to sit down?" he pointed at the bar, where several barstools waited. "It's, like, three in the morning."

"Okay."

They pulled out barstools and sat next to each other. Brooke rested her right hand on her chin, letting out a long yawn. Her eyelids drooped. Then they stopped midway, and flared open again. A thought came into her head; an idea. _Hmmm._

"I bet that doesn't usually bother you." She said, looking sideways at Dick.

"What doesn't usually bother me?" he asked absentmindedly, his eyes wandering.

"Being awake at three A.M. I mean, being Robin and all probably means a lot of late nights, right?"

Dick tensed, his eyes widening a fraction of a centimeter. Alfred's spoon froze as he turned ever-so-slightly toward the two children.

Brooke's eyes were brimming with sorrow and a little triumph.

"I knew it! I knew he was telling the truth!" she cried out. She looked back up at the panicky face of Dick and the surprised face of Alfred. "I-I, um," she began nervously to explain. She breathed in shakily, and went on. "I-I wanted to know for sure that this wasn't some joke, that you really are Robin, and that Mr. Wayne really is Batman, and that my m-mom-" her voice broke, and she started crying, her heart just too swollen. "That-that my mom really w-was Valor."

She started to sob in front of both of them. Dick's eyes widened and Alfred left the milk on the stove and came over to her.

"There, there, now Miss Brooke. You shouldn't cry." He patted her back comfortingly.

She ignored him, sobbing heavily as she choked out ragged gasps. Questions flurried throughout her mind like a snowstorm.

_Why did she have to hide a whole life away from me?_

_Why couldn't she tell me?_

_Was she trying to protect me?_

_Was she ever going to tell me?_

_Do I know my mom at all?_

But there was only one question she truly wanted the answer to.

"Why? Why did she have to go? Why did God take her away from me? Why? It's not fair!"

She coughed, feeling sick to her stomach. She lowered her voice to a squeaky whisper. "Why did she have to die?"

Alfred sighed softly.

Dick spoke hesitantly, "May-maybe she died for a reason."

"What reason?" Brooke shouted, her voice hoarse. "What could be so important that my mom had to die?"

Dick looked taken aback, and his own eyes watered. His lower lip trembled.

"Everything in this world happens for a reason, miss. Perhaps the reason will become clear with time," Alfred said, still gently patting her back.

"T-then why did she lie to me? Why couldn't she tell me she was Valor?"

Dick looked down at the floor. _I can almost feel his discomfort._

"I-I'm sorry I shouted at you." Brooke apologized shakily, feeling selfish and sick inside.

"It's not that," he murmured.

_Oh my gosh! _Realization hit her like a ton of bricks."Do you know?" her red puffy eyes gaped at him. "You must've met her; do you know why she didn't tell me?" _Please, God, let him know why!_

Dick opened his mouth to answer.

"No. He doesn't." A voice said darkly behind her. Brook whirled around to face the interrupter.

It was Endeavor, perched on the wrought-iron back of the barstool next to her. His tawny feathers seemed to glow red-gold in the light and his beady black-brown eyes held faint glimmers of gold, shining brightly and steadily. Behind him stood Mr. Wayne, his blue eyes raging, and a scowl on his face.

"But I do. And I will tell you."

**For people who are wondering why Brooke isn't speaking Arabic right now, it's because Arabic is her second language; she was born and grew up in America, English is her first language.**

**But here's a little Arabic for ya!**

**Kermail ana, ketbool eh an keef ustih!**

**Translation: PLEASE REVIEW! **


	6. Chapter Two Valor Part III

**I really hope you guys like this one, took me two days to write it (three?) Anyway, it was a lot longer than I thought it would be, so this chapter focuses on Pennsylvania's beginning. I'll try to get the next chapter to focus on her powers, though, so read and review please!**

**Chapter Two **

**Valor-Part III**

Brooke sat down in the chair, shivering and feeling sick inside. _Now I know they're telling the truth._

Squeaks sounded above her, and she looked up to see shadowed lumps hanging upside down from the ceiling. The lumps twisted and turned, chattering to each another, and all of sudden, one flew off, stretching its black fibery wings.

_Bats._

The cave they were in was enormous, full of small caverns and little pathways, all leading up to one main cave. A waterfall could be seen, frothily pale from the glow of florescent lights. She could hear the loud splashes of water on rock.

_Mr. Wayne is Batman. No more doubts._

Mr. Wayne sat next to her, looking oddly at ease in the dark surroundings. Alfred had left, along with Dick, who "needed his rest for school the next morning."

Endeavour flapped his wings, landing in front of her on the dank floor. He cleared his throat, his voice serious and firm, "Well, where do I begin? Dear Lord, it seems so long ago… yes. How she received her gifts. To begin a story, you have to begin at the beginning."

Raising his wings slightly, his eyes glowing gold in the dark, he began to speak.

"Maybe you remember your grandfather on your mother's side. He passed away nearly eight years ago. You were only a chick, two human years old. This is young, by your standards. He worked in a business that was very dangerous, called, um, called… what was it again, Bruce?"

"Genetics," Mr. Wayne said gruffly. "He was a geneticist."

"Yes, that's it. Genetics. You see, he wanted to work in this dangerous field ethically-"

"What does 'ethically' mean?" Brooke interrupted.

Mr. Wayne looked down at her, a smile on his face. "It means 'right.' He wanted to work in genetics without doing the wrong thing."

"Oh." _I wish I could've met him._

"Can I continue? This story isn't short you know." Endeavour stared at them, looking a little ticked off.

"He wanted to discover new things without tampering with nature. He worked with other humans who shared the same ideas. But, after a while, your grandfather discovered that they had used his research to experiment unethically. While it was still legal, your grandfather didn't want to work this way, and quit.

Now, one of the leaders of this group with was a deranged human geneticist; Dr. Karo. While he was foolish and his ideas were wrong, he was very clever, and very good at his work. He changed himself, altered himself. He tampered with his insides, and became Cairo, a human with the abilities of a snake. His experiments left him hideous and powerful.

He dreamed that one day; he could take humanity to the skies. He wanted to do to others what he had done to himself, to give them the abilities of animals, but without changing their appearance. He experimented mainly with birds, stealing their genetics and creating a mutagen-"

"What's a mutagen?" Brooke interrupted again.

"Will you let me finish? I will answer all your questions at the end!" Endeavour flapped his wings angrily.

"-creating a mutagen of the combined traits of many of their species. Cairo was known for holding grudges, and when he heard of your grandfather's refusal to work any longer, he knew exactly who he was going to test it on…"

* * *

><p>"<em>What!" Dr. Karo shouted, his voice trembling with fury, his face partly shadowed. "That-that idiot! Riyadh thinks he can just waltz onto one of my tests; see it doesn't fit under his "standards", and then quit?" He smashed his fist down on his desk, his forked tongue slithering out of his mouth in an involuntary hiss. Moments of awkward silence passed.<em>

_He sighed, shaking his head. "Did he find Project Flight?"_

"_No, sir. He only saw our regeneration experiment with the lizards." The younger scientist stood at the door, feeling awkward and nervous._

"_Good. At least that was one of our legal projects." Dr. Karo stood up, pinching his nose. His right eye was yellow and cat-like; and human-colored scales grew on the right side of his neck. His tongue slid out again, thin, forked, and unnatural. _

_The left side of his face was perfectly normal._

_Dr. Karo stared off to the side, his eyes lost in thought. "Does Riyadh have any children?" he asked absentmindedly._

_The scientist shifted his weight from foot to foot, uncomfortable with where the conversation was going. "Yes, sir. A boy and a girl. Both in high school."_

"_How old are they?"_

_The scientist furrowed his brow in concentration. "I'm not sure; I think his daughter is eighteen, a senior, while his son is sixteen, maybe fifteen."_

"_Bring the girl to Project Flight tomorrow at 10 o' clock. I think we've finally found our test subject." Dr. Karo smiled, his tongue flicking in and out of his mouth._

_The scientist paled. "Yes sir."_

* * *

><p>"So, Dr. Karo went ahead and tested out the formula on your mother. It worked. She became the first human-avian. But one of his trusted scientists felt that what he had done was wrong, so, later, after they had left the lab to record data and information, he returned on his own and released her…"<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>What did you do to me!" the girl slammed the young scientist against the wall, her arm pinned on his neck. "Why-why can I see in the dark? What did you do to me?"<em>

"_I-I'm sorry…" he gasped, unable to breathe while the girl choked him. "I wa- I wan…"he inhaled as best he could, clutching at her arm. _

"_You what?" she snarled, easing her grip on his throat._

_He breathed in deeply, "I want to help you," he said weakly. _

_The girl narrowed her eyes._

_The young scientist stared intently into her dark brown irises, now flecked with gold shimmers. "Why would I let you go and leave myself defenseless if I wasn't telling the truth?" _

_The girl hesitated, and then she stepped back, taking her arm completely off his throat._

"_What did you do to me?" she demanded, her fists clenched._

_The young scientist sighed, closing his eyes. "They, we, mutated you. Your DNA. Now, now you have the traits of common birds, while still maintaining the appearance of a normal human." He opened his eyes and looked back at her._

_The girl shuddered, closing her own eyes. "You're a sicko." She glared at him. "You are disgusting, you know that? Running around kidnapping people and then performing illegal genetic tests on them-"_

"_Look, I know what I did, okay? Now I'm trying to help you. So, please, save the lecture for later and follow me." The young scientist turned around and walked out of Project Flight's test lab._

_The girl paused, then she followed him._

* * *

><p>"<em>Here," he said, handing her a black gun-like tube. "Put this on your arm."<em>

"_Umm, what is it, and how do I do that?" The girl questioned._

"_It's something I created a while back. Never really took off though, but I think in your case, it might work. See," he pointed to a thin gap in the object. "You slide your arm through that gap, and then you close the - well, I call it a wing – wing so that it clings to your arm."_

_The girl followed his instructions and put the wing on her arm. It went up to her elbow and down to her palm, ending at the base of her fingers. "Now what?" she said, looking unimpressed. "I'm starting to see why your "wing" never took off."_

"_Press the button in the center of your palm."_

_She did so, and the button glowed bright blue. She gasped out loud. "What the-?" A tingling sensation ran up and down her arm where the wing was attached, followed by a light pinching._

"_It's attaching itself to your nervous system. Now, whatever you want it to do-"_

_Three shards of silver metal slid out slowly of one of the many thin vertical gaps in the wing, forming a "W" on her arm. She stared at the "W" with her mouth open._

"_It does it. It's like a part of your body now. I think, maybe, it might just work for you. Ask it to take the shape of a wing, like a bird's wing. Just picture it in your mind-"_

"_I got it, bird boy, thanks." She said curtly, and more shards of sliver metal slid out, forming what looked like metal feathers, into one large silver half-wing._

"_Here, put this on too." He handed her another "wing", and pointed to her bicep. She clasped on the wing; it reached down to her elbow and up to her shoulder. She pressed a button near her shoulder, and it glowed bright blue. The tingling happened again, and she formed the other half of the wing._

"_And now put the other two wings on your other arm-"_

"_How is this going to help me get out of here?" the girl said, crossing her arms. "I'm not doing any more science crap until I know what I'm doing to myself."_

_The scientist stared quietly at the wing before placing a finger on the silvery metal. "This right here is titanium; the metal with the __highest strength-to-weight ratio in world. The wing never worked in the labs; humans' bones were too solid. But you-" he paused, looking into her angry brown-gold eyes. "You just had your leg bones mutated. Now you have hollow-bubble-like patches in them, like a bird's bones. I think that, with all four wings on, you can fly."_

"_Fly? Are you serious?" She threw her hands up into the air. "It's official! I'm surrounded by crazies!"_

_A loud alarm went off._

* * *

><p>"So, using the wings, your mother and the scientist escaped from the building. But that very morning…"<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>What have you done to my daughter?" Samuel Riyadh hugged the girl, Pennsylvania, close to his chest as he glared at the young scientist. It was 4:52 A.M.<em>

"_I-I-" the scientist looked for some way to explain himself._

"_It's okay, Baba. He helped me escape." Penny intervened. "God knows what else they would have done to me if he hadn't had a change of heart." She smirked at the scientist._

"_I-I can't believe my old labs would do such a thing." Dr. Riyadh stared off to the side, his voice thick with disbelief, still clutching Penny to his heart. His brow hardened. "Those dirty sons of b-"_

"_Baba!" Penny interrupted, before her father could say something he'd regret later. "I'm fine, see?" She stepped away from him, raised her arms and twirled in circle. "See?" she repeated. _

"_I'm calling the police," he said, his voice dark, picking up the house phone on the table next to him. "They won't be testing formulas for a long time- You!" he suddenly shouted, pointing to the scientist, who had jumped slightly. "What's your name?"_

"_R-Ralph Milo, sir." He stammered._

"_Thank you for helping my girl, Ralph," he said, his voice thick with gratitude. Ralph relaxed, and managed a small smile. "You're welcome, sir."_

"_But that doesn't excuse the fact that you participated in a very serious crime," _

_Ralph paled slightly, and stared down at the floor. "I know sir."_

_Dr. Riyadh's face was gentle but firm. "I'd be willing to drop charges, but you'd still have quite a bit of legal trouble." He dialed 911 on the phone and placed it on his ear. "You could testify, however, against the labs and get immunity."_

"_I will do, that, sir…"_

* * *

><p>"...there had been an explosion at the laboratories. Dr. Karo, his trustees, all who knew of Project Flight, except Ralph Milo and your mother, were dead. Milo was arrested, despite his attempt at immunity, and your mother now had amazing abilities and the four wings Milo had given her.<p>

But her genetics were unstable. Early on, our healers created a medicine for her to take that would protect her from genetic breakdown." Endeavour sighed, the story almost done. "The medicine could not protect her forever. Last night she died from the instability of her genes. For a long time we were all afraid the same would happen to you, and you would have to take the medicine as well, but you showed no signs of the instability, probably because you have a greater amount of human in you from your father." Endeavour sighed again, ending the long tale. "She planned on telling you when you were eleven. She did not want you to join her in her fight for justice too early. She asked the leader of Avia to keep it a secret from you also. No birds were allowed to speak legibly near you, pigeons and sparrows followed you from school and home and warned your mother of where you were at all times. Falcons watched over you to make sure no enemies or rebels told you of the secret. She only wanted to protect you."

Endeavour stared at Brooke, who eyes were blank.

She shuddered, feeling terribly sick. She didn't know why, but the story hit her deep in the pit of her heart. She was crying silently, just feeling overwhelmed by everything.

She pulled up her knees and sobbed into them.

_Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh-_

Mr. Wayne wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest. She looked up and saw that his eyes were wet. He didn't cry; but they were wet. _He cares._

She buried her head back into his hold and cried louder, letting everything out.

_Mom! Mom, I need you! Why did you go? I still need you!_

She felt herself being carried, and realized that Mr. Wayne had picked her up.

"Where are you taking her?" Endeavour protested, flapping his wings and flying in front of Mr. Wayne. "She can't leave now; there are still things she doesn't know."

"You can tell her tomorrow. It's three thirty in the morning. She needs her rest." Mr. Wayne gave him a glare that dared him to say otherwise.

Endeavour narrowed his eyes. "Very well. Tomorrow."

He alighted on the back of the chair she'd been sitting on. Mr. Wayne carried her into the metallic elevator and they went back up to the Manor.

He gently stroked her hair, but he said nothing.

He carried her in silence throughout the darkness of the Manor, until they reached a small guest room. The shades were closed, but a tiny drop of moonlight shone through. Brooke could make out a bed and a dresser, a wardrobe and a lamp.

Mr. Wayne lifted the sheets and set her carefully on the bed, then pulled up the covers and left.

Leaving Brooke alone with her thoughts in the dark.

**Please review! And many thanks go out to Ash Veran, the first reviewer, Ranger Sage, for inspiring me, JediApprenticeLastQuest and LittleMissMia123, my fellow OC writers for reading and loving _my_ OC, XXXMariellaXXX for making me feel like I've truly captured Brooke's grief, and last, but not least, to calliope821, who has recently been hooked by _Valiant_. Thanks so much for reviewing guys!**


	7. Chapter Three Memorial Part I

**Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, I've had**_** sooo**_** much going on! Florida, then Comic-Con (which was amazing), then my cousin from Italy (can you believe she's never had a pancake?), then summer homework (my price for being good at English), then **_**Running Away**_**. So, I've been super busy! I**_** really**_** should be doing my homework…**

**Please go read Running Away! I love writing that fanfic! (Well, I love writing this one too, but that one is a little bit easier)**

**P.S. I named this chapter after the hospital my brother was born in two years ago. **

**P.P.S I really, very highly recommend this soundtrack that goes well with the chapter: Dark Knight Original Soundtrack-Like a Dog Chasing Cars.**

**P.P.P.S. It took me **_**forever **_**to figure out where this story would go next. Then I saw Kung Fu Panda 2 (awesome, by-the-by) again, and a scene from it inspired me.**

**Chapter Three**

**Memorial–Part I**

That night changed my life. I know it sounds pretty cliché, but it's true. That night, I stopped being just Brooklyn Riyadh; I became so much more.

Most heroes you know lead just two lives; their hero one, and their secret identity "normal" one. I'm living three.

My hero life, which I choose, my "normal" life, which I need, and my political life, which is forced.

That night, I cried my heart out, because when I was finally alone in the dark and everything was quiet, I felt the true fear and understanding of what it meant now that I was an orphan; I would never see my mother again in my life. It stung, and it hurt, and it ached, and then tears would wash it away temporarily. But I'd jolt awake and it'd start all over again.

In the morning Bruce came and made me promise (I refused to swear) never to tell anyone about what I'd found out; identities, locations, everything. It all had to stay secret.

Dick was my best friend. Asia was gone, and Koleah and everyone else; far away in New York, so it was me and him. We went to school together, trained together, and when the time came, fought together.

There are three days I'll never forget at the Manor.

The first day was my first Christmas Eve there. I'd stopped singing, because every time I sang I heard my mother's voice. So, when Dick asked me to go caroling with him, and I said no, he didn't ask me why.

That night, I got up because I couldn't sleep. It didn't feel like Christmas to me; Christmas in New York with my mother was loud and bright and noisy and everything that Christmas should be! Christmas in Gotham was dark and mysterious and quiet and the opposite of my Christmases. Christmas in Gotham was not right.

I wandered around the Manor, feeling sorry for myself, even though I knew I shouldn't have been. In the one room, there was a piano. It was never used. Old, grand and dusty, it stood gleaming in the center, waiting for a bright Christmas, like me.

I'd never played an instrument in my life.

I sat down at the piano, for some reason, and I pulled up the cover, so the ivory keys shone in the moonlight. And I played. I pounded the keys till my fingers ached at midnight on Christmas Eve; and I didn't play badly either. This was really weird, now that I think about it, but it wasn't to me when I was playing.

I just kept playing "Carol of the Bells" over and over; the melody was in my head, and my fingers knew just what to do on the piano. I wasn't really in control.

I cried while I played. My throat hurt. And then I started to sing, softly at first, but it grew louder until my voice blew the piano out of the water.

_One seems to hear_

_Words of good cheer_

_From everywhere_

_Filling the air_

_Oh how they pound_

_Raising the sound_

_O'er hill and dale_

_Telling their tale_

I choked out the last part and stopped, and my fingers felt cramped. I sobbed quietly, wishing that my mother was here.

_Gaily they ring _

_While people sing_

_Songs of good cheer_

_Christmas is here._

I turned around and there was Dick, singing softly in the threshold.

He ran and hugged me, and I hugged him back. We cried together. We both knew each other's stories; I'd lost my parents in Afghanistan and a hospital, he'd lost his in a circus tent.

And we fell asleep the piano bench in each other's arms, bro and sis already.

The second day was in January. Me and Alfred were alone at the Manor when he got sick, and that's when I discovered my talent for medicine.

You see, Endeavour had been training me even though Bruce didn't like it. Between fighting and flying, he showed me ways to heal wounds and stuff like that, stuff that birds were good at. Ten years old and I knew how to remove a person's appendix. Kind of. (Well, it was a _very _messy job but in the end I could do it.)

So, when Alfred got pneumonia, I put him to bed, and remembered the herbal recipe for fevers and breathing problems. I mixed it in the Cave, and gave it to him, praying to dear God that it would work. And, surprisingly, it did. So, now, whenever I'm out patrolling the city, my utility belt is full with vials and needles and surgical tools; you'd be surprised how often I need to use them.

The third day was the best, and the worst.

I called Bruce "Dad." I'd never called anyone "Dad" before, but it just seemed to fit him. It was an accident.

We were in the pool; it was the middle of summer vacation. You can guess what happened next. I slipped and fell in the deep end. Now, I wasn't a _bad _swimmer, just not a very good one in deep water, so _yes_, I started screaming and coughing, like the little, terrified ten-year old I was. The ten-year old who kicked bad guy butt almost every night and strategized war against the invading nation of Asphur, was afraid of getting her head wet, I'll admit it. I don't think "penguin" wasn't on the list of bird genetics I got.

Bruce dove and in and got me out. I was choking and spluttering and somewhere in my babbles I shouted "Dad!" and hung on to him like a spider monkey. I don't think he minded.

Then that night, everything changed again. Right as I found my new family; my brother, grandpa and dad. I lost them all.

Because that night, L.Y.C.A.N. showed up.

Don't ask me what any of the letters stand for, because it makes my blood curdle when I think about them. And I honestly don't know or care.

They found me. Old believers of that dead scientist, Karo. They wanted me, so they could examine me and "take humanity to the skies." Basically, I was a genetic gem, a rare, irreplaceable gem. There was no other like me; I was the last and only one.

By now, L.Y.C.A.N. was more of an extremist cult than a scientific lab.

I had to be hidden; they couldn't find me. So Bruce told the world that his foster daughter was dead, and I went to live with Hal Jordan under the name, "Harper Ferris." I wasn't Brook anymore.

And that hurts; the fact that I'm not Brook anymore, I'm not even Harper Ferris anymore. I'm always someone new.

Now, I'm Allison Rheas, in Chicago Illinois, I'm thirteen and I live alone. Once in a while, Hal or Dinah will show up so the landlords won't throw me out until I move somewhere else and start again.

Tomorrow's a big day for me. Tomorrow's Independence Day.

Tomorrow, I join the Justice League as Valiant.

Tomorrow, everything's gonna change.

**Meh, I didn't like this chap very much. Oh well, tell me what you think guys, AND I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT!**


	8. Chapter Four Independence Part I

Hello, there, dear reader. Perhaps you recognize me; then again, you may not.

I am called Narrator; previously, I have been seen in the story _Running Away._ I have come today to take the place of Rowanfall in her absence, and she is taking my place in mine. I have come to help my cousin, Endeavour.

If you wish to read more of my work, it is available through Rowanfall, and the title is the aforementioned story.

I will do the best I can with my resources. I am Narrator, I should do reasonably; but if you find my work unentertaining, please do not let me keep you. Go find something else to read, and a new narrator.

But enough about me. Now, dear reader, let us continue the story of Brook.

**Chapter Four**

**Independence-Part I**

**CHICAGO**

**July 4, 10:39 CST**

"Look out!" I shouted as I yanked Endeavour by his talons out of the range of Snowmist's deadly icefire. I tossed him to the side and he righted himself as the blast careened into the building inches away from my metal wing tips, causing a huge _boom! _

_Oh, man! I _so _do not need this from Snowmist right now!_

"Ugh, does it_ look_ like we have time for this?" I complained as I flew toward Snowmist, extending my wings even farther. The cold metal slid out with a _swish. _I knew Snowmist like Flash knew Trickster, and they pretty much had the same personality. She was a complete idiot, and it made me wonder how on earth she shared DNA with Killer Frost.

_Tricking her into guilt-fortifying herself's the best way out of this mess. She's like a kid; she doesn't know what she's doing. It's all a game to her._

True to my thoughts, Snowmist giggled as she raised her arms to the sky and let a shriek of icefire escape her hands. "So pretty! Isn't it pretty?" the icefire was a brilliant ice blue and white, very beautiful indeed.

I flew till I landed right in front of her. I had to be careful; she was as unstable as an atomic bomb.

"Snowmist." I said softly, but a little sternly.

"Yeah, Vally?" she still giggled, her pale blue eyes squinting from the sunlight reflecting off her white ensemble.

I let her get away with calling me Vally.

"Why did you blast the John Hancock skyscraper with your icefire?" I jerked a thumb over my shoulder to the broken glass and crumbling debris of one of Chicago's most significant buildings. _At least it wasn't the Water Tower. _

"Oh," Snowmist's tiny laughs faded as she cocked her head and stared up at the Hancock. We were in a little inlet that dipped farther into the ground than the streets of Chicago. Around us was a small array of café's and shops and the like. If you climbed the stairs up to the streets, you'd find a sidewalk and the entrance to the Hancock. I'd been above the inlet with Endeavour when the blast had nearly hit him.

"Oh," she said again. "Well, the skyscraper's all black and big and ugly, blocking out all the blue. I wanted to see the blue." She explained.

_Blue?_

The sky. Of course. Gently, I placed my hand on her arm, allowing the wings to retract slowly until only the tips of the shards poked out. I could feel her heartbeat, way slower than mine.

_Da-dunt, da-dunt, da- dunt, da-dunt… _hers went.

_Hmnmnmmmmmnmnm… _mine went.

Her own heartbeat slowed, and she seemed to calm. Thank God it worked on ice villains too; I needed to hurry this up. _Sometimes it pays to have the heartbeat of a hummingbird. _I went back to our conversation. "But did you have to destroy to see the blue? The blue wouldn't want you to be bad for its sake."

She looked up at the sky. "I don't want the blue to be angry with me," she whispered softly. "Vally, will you take me to see the blue? You can fly. I can't fly." She seemed so innocent, asking me this question. She just wanted to see the sky.

I felt a tremor through my half-hollow leg bones. I looked over Snowmist's shoulder. Sure enough, there was Endeavor beside some of Chicago Police Department; one of them had a tranq gun aimed right at the ice villain, waiting for my signal. Even though she was delaying me, I still felt sorry for Snowmist. _It can't be easy having Frost for a sister…where is she anyway? _I felt myself stiffen. Those two were almost always together.

But she'd have shown up by now.

"Tell you what Snowmist. I 'll take you to see the sk-blue," I corrected myself in time. Like I said before, this chick was unstable. Innocent, but unstable. "Just not right now; I have to go help my friends. I can take you to the blue tomorrow, okay? But you have to be good." I made a stern face to convince her I was serious.

"I will, Vally, I promise. I don't want the blue to be angry."

_She seriously needs to start getting some medication._

I signaled the cop with the tranq and he pulled the trigger. Snowmist gasped as the feathered target hit her, her eyelids fluttered and she fell into my arms.

I dropped her to the floor and extended my wings with a _swish_; darting into the air as quickly as I could. Endeavour flew beside me, too high in the air for sight and hidden amongst the clouds. He was giving me the ever-usual '_you are a princess, act like one'_ glare. "You made a grave mistake. You shouldn't have-"

"No way, Deavour! I wasn't going to waste any time." I knew he hated it when I called him that.

"Today's the day!"

**WASHINGTON D.C.**

**July 4, 14:00 EDT**

I alighted next to Robin and Bats, and stretched out the length of my arm for Endeavour.

_Oh my gosh…_

It was the Hall of Justice. I'd seen it before but, oh man, never like this. Today, it seemed even bigger than usual, the ivory and glass orb shining even brighter inside the domelike structure of the Hall. A golden set of decorative spikes inlaid in a concrete star formed a dock toward the pool of water shimmering before it.

"Wow," I breathed.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Endeavour murmured, his eyes fixated on the Hall.

Batman put his hand on Robin's shoulder. "Today is the day," he said, with a rare smile.

"Welcome to the Hall of Justice." Green Arrow added, with Speedy beside him.

"Headquarters of the Justice League." Finalized Aquaman, with Aqualad next to him.

"Oh man!" I heard a complaining tone behind me. We all turned around as the two late speedsters finally showed up.

Kid Flash skidded to a stop beside his mentor and folded his arms across his chest. "I knew we'd be the last ones here!"


	9. Chapter Four Independence Part II

**Oh, you people better appreciate this chapter.**

**Chapter Four**

**Independence-Part II**

**WASHINGTON D.C.**

**July 4, 14:00 EDT**

Superheroes have fans. Lots of fans; except they get our names confused. We got a great example of this as we walked down the pathway to the Hall.

"I see Flash and Flash Jr.!" One lady squealed.

"His name's Speedy, duh." A man reprimanded, who, according to the tremors running through my legs_,_ stood next to her.

"No, Speedy's Green Arrow's sidekick!" Another shouted.

"Well, that makes no sense."

I shook my head, smiling._ It can get pretty frustrating remembering who's who when all our names kind of correspond. Glad I didn't take "Sparrow" as a name, then people would have confused me with Robin._

"Ready to see the inner sanctum?" Green Arrow grinned over Speedy's shoulder.

"Born that way." Speedy answered, his smile wide and proud.

"I'm glad we're all here." Aqualad spoke up.

"It's kinda nice, isn't it?" I smiled up at him. His silvery eyes were unusual; they reminded me of my own gold-rimmed ones, which were currently hidden behind a black-and-white domino mask.

Kid Flash turned to us, excited. "Have all five sidekicks ever been at the same place at the same time?"

"_Don't_ call us sidekicks," Speedy cut him off with a glare, his smile gone. "Not after today."

"Sorry," Kid Flash apologized. "First time at the Hall. I'm a little overwhelmed."

"You're overwhelmed, Freeze was underwhelmed, why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?" Robin sighed, walking a little faster, reaching the entrance before us.

"Oh," his white slits grew into oblong ovals. "Maybe that's why."

Eight huge statues formed a half circle above us. Aquaman, Flash, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Valor.

"Hey," I whispered, giving a little salute at my… _real_ mentor. Like the other statues, she faced forward, her expression serious. What would she say if she could see me now?

Endeavour squeezed his grip on my shoulder, his sharp talons pinching my skin. "She'd be proud." He twittered in my ear. I arched an eyebrow at him. He was such a mind-reader sometimes.

A door slid open in front of us, and Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado stepped out.

"Robin, Speedy, Valiant, Aqualad, Kid Flash." His face was stoic, his red eyes unwavering. "Welcome."

He turned around, a gesture for us to follow him. I nudged Robin on the shoulder; I was_ still_ a little shorter even though I was older!

Kid Flash grinned at us, fist bumping Robin as we walked inside and the door shut behind us.

"You now have unlimited access to the gym, our fully stocked galley," we advanced into a room filled with shelves and shelves of books, "and of course, our library."

Flash faced us, his trademark grin wider than usual as he spread his arms out. "Make yourselves at home."

Kid Flash and Robin plopped down on the chairs while Aqualad calmly seated himself across from them. I spread my wings with a _swish, _leapt into the air and perched on the coffee table between Robin and Kid. Speedy remained standing, his eyes narrowed.

Endeavour flew off my shoulder and landed carefully on Batman's.

"Quick debrief to discuss the coincidence of five ice villains attacking on the same day." Batman faced us, his voice gravelly. "We shouldn't be long."

Our mentors went up to another door, and a small, mechanical orb slid out of the roof, scanning each of them.

"Recognized, Batman, 0-2,"

"Endeavour, 0-8,"

"Aquaman, 0-6,"

"Flash, 0-4,"

"Green Arrow, 0-9,"

"Martian Manhunter, 0-7,"

The door, marked "Justice League Members Only," slid open as the orb announced the last name.

"Red Tornado, 1-7."

"That's it?" Speedy snarled. All the members turned back around.

"You promised us a _real _look inside," he folded his arms across his chest, "not a glorified backstage pass."

"It's a first step," Aquaman spoke, "you've been granted access few others get."

"Oh really?" He waved a hand at an observation window above us, where tourists stood, gaped and took photos. "Who cares which side of the glass we're on?"

"Roy," Green Arrow stepped forward. "You just need to be patient."

"What I_ need_," he spat, "is respect." He turned his back on his mentor, facing us. "They're treating us like kids. Worse, like _sidekicks_." He bent his head closer to us. "We deserve better than this."

I looked at Robin, Kid, Aqualad, and then back at Robin. I didn't really see a problem with waiting a bit longer to see the rest of the Hall, and I could tell that they didn't either. None of us said anything.

"You're kidding, right?" His eyes widened, his voice thick with disbelief. "You're playing their game? Why?" he demanded. "Because you think they play fair?

"Today was supposed to be_ the_ day," he slammed his fist into the palm of his hand, "step one in becoming full-fledged members of the League!"

"Well, sure," Kid Flash shrugged. "But I thought step one was a tour of the HQ?"

"Except the Hall isn't the League's real HQ."

_What?_

Everyone's eyes widened, my mouth and Kid's mouth formed a small "o", Robin sat up a little straighter, and even calm Aqualad looked surprised.

"I bet they never told you that's it's just a false front for tourists, and a pit stop for catching zeta beam teleporter tubes to the _real _thing," he raised an arm to the ceiling. "An orbiting satellite, called the Watchtower."

_Endeavour lied to me?_ Disbelief pounded against my skull, despite the fact that my skull modeled after a woodpecker's and could withstand smashing into concrete.

Green Arrow turned to Batman, who folded his arms across his chest.

"I know, I know, but I thought, maybe, we could make an exception?" Green Arrow murmured, trying to crack a smile.

Batman said nothing, his eyes narrowing even further.

The smile disappeared, replaced by a frown. "Or not."

"You are nothelping your cause here, son." Aquaman interfered. "Stand down, or-"

"Or what? You'll send me to my room?" Speedy quipped with biting scorn. "And I'm _not_ your son! I'm not even his." He glared at Green Arrow. "I thought I was his partner, but - not anymore." He flung his hat to the ground.

I could feel the entire room tense, and shock radiated from each and every one of us. Speedy's indignance and resentment seemed to soak into the ground before re-vibrating into my legs, inky and uncomfortable.

_Oh my God, Speedy. Don't quit! Don't leave! _Something childish and faint woke in me, something I didn't really want to remember. _Don't go!_

He marched past us, ignoring the looks of astonishment. "Guess they're right about you four." We got up from our seats, watching him walk towards the exit.

"You're _not_ ready."

We all stared after him, none of us really sure what to do.

_Speedy's gone? _How could this have happened? Five minutes ago we were talking and laughing together and now he was – _gone?_

An obnoxious alarm declaring an incoming transmission saved us. Superman appeared on the computer screen.

"Superman to Justice League. There's been an explosion at Project Cadmus. It's on fire." He stated the emergency, expressionless.

"I've had my suspicions about Cadmus," Batman, along with the other Leaguers walked over to the screen and keyboard. "This may present the perfect opportunity to-"

Again the alarm sounded, interrupting Batman. A small square appeared in the corner of the screen, showing Zatara's profile.

"Zatara to Justice League. The Sorcerer Wotan is using the Amulet of Aten to blot out the sun. Requesting full League response."

"Superman?" Batman questioned.

"It's a small fire. Local authorities have it under control."

"Then Cadmus can wait," Batman pressed a comm key on the keyboard. "All Leaguers rendezvous at Zatara's coordinates, Batman out."

I walked up to them with Kid, Robin and Aqualad beside me, ready for the mission.

"Stay put." Batman growled.

"What? Why?" Robin complained.

"This is a League mission," Aquaman answered, as though it being a League mission was a perfectly acceptable explanation.

"You're not trained." Flash threw in.

"Since when?" Kid spread out his arms in indignation.

"He meant you are not trained to work as part of _this _team." Endeavour's golden eyes shone as he spread out a wing, indicating the League.

"There will be other missions, when you're ready." Aquaman nodded.

"But for now," Batman eyes narrowed even further, "stay put."

They walked towards the door with the others on their heels.

"Glad you didn't bring you-know-who?" Green Arrow teased Martian Manhunter.

"Indeed." He replied, before disappearing after the rest of the Leaguers. Red Tornado stayed behind for a second, staring at us, before following Green Arrow and Manhunter, the door sliding shut behind him.

Kid scoffed, breaking the silence. "When we're ready?" He squeezed his eyes shut in frustration before opening them again. "How are we ever supposed to be ready when they treat us like – like," He threw his arms into the air in annoyance. "_sidekicks_?"

"My mentor, my king," Aqualad sighed. "I thought he trusted me."

"_Trust_? They don't even trust us with the basics! They've got a secret HQ - _in space_!" He threw his arms into the air again.

_Is he trying to fly or something?_

"Look, I'm just as upset as you guys are," I cut in. "But don't you think we should consider this from their point of view?" Endeavour wouldn't keep secrets without reason.

Unless Batman forced him to.

"Their point of view? What's there to consider? They _lied _to us!" Kid shouted in my face.

I narrowed my eyes, my arms folded across my chest. "You ever think they kept the Watchtower a secret to protect you_ and_ themselves?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm just saying," I shrugged my shoulders. "If there's one thing I've learned is that even when you trust someone, usually, for their own good, you can't tell them _everything._" _And boy, have I learned _that_ lesson._

"Then what else aren't they telling us?" Aqualad stepped forward, interrogating my answer.

Robin sighed, joining in the conversation. "I have a better question. Why didn't we leave with Speedy?"

Kid crossed his arms over his chest again, and we studied the ground for a second.

Fear, uncertainty, and doubt pulsed through my legs. For once, I wished I could shut them off. I didn't need to know others' emotions when I had them myself. _Stupid hollow leg bones!_

"What is Project Cadmus?" Aqualad broke the ice.

"Don't know," Robin murmured, as a wide grin settled onto his face. "But I can find out."

He walked over to the computer, the three of us right behind him, and started to mess around on the keyboard.

"Access denied." The computer announced as Robin paused in his frantic typing.

"Heh, wanna bet?" He grinned even wider.

The screen, which had been glowing green, started to scramble through files and binary numbers.

"Whoa, how are you doing that?" Kid stared in astonishment.

I wanted to scuffle Robin's hair. _My little bro, an expert hacker._

"Access granted." The screen shone red for a second, and then green again, and a file on Cadmus opened up.

"Alright, Project Cadmus, genetics lab here in D.C." Robin read aloud. "That's all there is. But if Batman's suspicious," he stepped away from the computer, glancing back and forth between Kid, Aqualad and me, his grin still wide, "maybe we should investigate."

"Solve their case before they do." Aqualad finished.

"Total poetic justice." I add.

"Hey, they're all about justice," he grinned at me, a laugh in his breath.

Aqualad sighed, shaking his head. "But they said stay put."

"For the blotting-out-the-sun mission, not this!" Robin pointed out.

"Wait, a-are you going to Cadmus? Because if you're going, I'm going!" Kid grinned up at Aqualad at me, his hand on Robin's shoulder.

Aqualad glanced at me.

"Massive rationalization. But I'm going." I walked over and stood next to Kid and Robin.

Aqualad smiled. "Just like that? We're a team on a mission?"

"We didn't come for a play date." Robin smirked.

I nudge his shoulder as excitement flurries through my legs. _This is gonna be awesome._


	10. Chapter Four Independence Part III

**NEW CHAPTER! What, after like, months of not updating? *GASP***

**Next chapter will be a lot faster, I promise.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

**Independence-Part III**

A soft updraft blew through my hair from the fire as we neared Cadmus. I could hear the alarms and sirens as an enormous vibration rang throughout my frame, and before anyone could tell him to stop, Kid Flash had run ahead to the genetics lab.

The speedster ran up the wall, grabbing the two scientists who had fallen out from the explosion that had sent my bones into danger mode, and dropping them onto the roof. His feet slipped as he tried to regrip the vertical wall, and he grabbed the window's ledge at the last second.

"So smooth." Robin grinned.

"Does he always have to run ahead?" Kaldur's eyes were narrow. I noticed more movement, tinged with mischief, but kept my mouth shut as he continued. "We need a plan. We-"

And the movement ended as soon as Kaldur noticed what I knew about five seconds ago. "Robin?"

A echoic laugh rang around us, and we watched as Robin used his grappling hook to swing up to the ledge and help Kid.

I glanced at Aqualad. "I can get one of the scientists. Can you save the other?"

He nodded. Without hesitation I spread my wings with a _swish _and flew up to where Kid had left them. Instantly I felt more focused. The distraction from everything vibrating through me was a small one, but it was still a distraction.

_Hey. How come Rob gets to have all the fun? _I smiled, letting out a eagle cry. "Kah-aaa!" To anyone else, it was just a cry, but it held an actual meaning.

"Hold on to my neck." I ordered the younger, lighter-looking one as I landed on the roof. "My friend will be up here soon for you." I promised the other.

I hovered back down to the ground as Aqualad, on what looked like a water twister, went up for the last scientist. As soon as he let go, I darted to the window where Kid and Robin had gone, Aqualad on my heels.

"Appreciate the help." he murmered to them. I ignored their replies, something about poetic justice, my wings silently retracting back into their black slits. A trace of something strange and unknown was in the earth; I could feel it. Of course this wasn't unusual. I was still coming to grips with my "sixth sense", and didn't know what everything felt like.

Both Robin and Kid were looking through files or hacking computers. Aqualad looked out of place among all this technological science stuff. _Maybe he'd be better off with me._

"Aqualad, I think there's something over there." I crept towards where the tremors were the strongest, knowing that he was following me.

_Ding!_

I swung around, catching a glimpse of a shadowed creature in a closing elevator.

"Did you see that?" My eyes were wide as they darted toward Aqualad's.

"There was something in the-" I realized that they probably didn't have elevators in Atlantis, so he might not know what the word for it was.

"Elevators should be locked down." Kid piped up. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I was used to knowing where everyone was and if anyone was near me, but Kid and Flash were so fast that they got to places before their trembling did. _Darn speedsters. If I'm gonna live my whole life feeling the world's shivers, the least they could do is give me some warning._

Robin ran past us, clicking on the little triangle to go down. It didn't light up, and the doors didn't open.

"This is wrong." He brought up his blue holoscreen, scanning the elevator. "Thought so. This is a high-speed express elevator. It doesn't belong in a two-story building."

"Neither does what we saw." Aqualad countered. He stepped up to the elevator's doors, pushing them open with a grunt.

I peeked over his shoulder. A far too long shaft steeped down.

"And that's why they need an express elevator." Robin ducked under Aqualad's arm. Knowing that we were definitely going to investigate now, I leapt into the shaft, my wings sliding out again.

I heard the shot of a grappling hook, and soon Robin was swinging down next to me. I glanced up, worried about how the other two were gonna follow us, only to see them shimmying down the line of Rob's grappling hook. _I think we work pretty well together._

"I'm at the end of my rope." His faint voice interrupted my thoughts. I saw that I had glided below them. Flapping back up, I decided to fly in place. It was hard, since there was barely any wind to help me.

Robin swung onto the tiny ledge, and Aqualad and Kid leapt next to him.

"Don't you want your hook?" I asked.

"I've got more." He replied, his eyes on his holoscreen. "Bypassing security." Little R2D2 sounds emitted from the blue transparency. "There. Go!"

Aqualad pushed open the elevator doors again. I wondered about how he did that. _Does he have the strength of a whale or a shark? And which one's stronger anyhow?_

Flapping, my arms getting tired, I stepped back onto the ground. Instantly trembles and quivers filled up the hollowness. And emotionless, heavy thudding.

"Welcome to Project Cadmus." Robin murmured. _Whoa. _the underground facility stretched on as far as the eye could see. A normal human eye. "I feel something. Big." I muttered.

I heard a _whoosh _and a breeze fluttered through my dark brown ponytail. A moment later, Kid's weight pulsated further away. "Wait!" I heard Aqualad whisper-shout.

_Oh no._ "Kid, don't!" _He's heading straight for it!_

That's when Kid slipped under the feet of the weirdest looking creatures I'd ever seen. Huge, gray and bulky, I knew that they were the source of the new-found thuds. _Add another memory to the quake-bank. _

Kid narrowly made it to the other side of the hallway before speeding in front of their march and back on our side. I stared up at the ape-like animals as they stamped past us. Little, smaller gray beings clung to their shoulders. _Their children? _One stared emptily at us, the horns on it's head glowing red for a moment.

"No, nothing odd going on here." Aqualad murmured.

* * *

><p>It was official by now; Robin would be doing any and all hacking. The door's red center shone a bright green within a few seconds. Aqualad stood guard behind us. "Feel anything, Val?" Rob bent his head slightly toward me.<p>

I braced my legs a little further, balancing on my forefeet. Other than the tremblings around me, I could feel nothing. "No. Coast is clear."

Robin wasted no time in opening the door as soon as he got the assurance that all was safe.

I inhaled sharply through my teeth at what I saw.

"Okay, I'm officially whelmed."

Circular glass orbs held dozens of blue-gray spider-like creatures, electricity crackling and snapping around them.

Robin turned towards me. "You told me you didn't feel anything."

I narrowed my eyes. "They're leveled above the ground. You can't expect me to feel something through transitive property that isn't on the other end."

Kid Flash walked ahead, marveling at them. "This is how they hide this massive underground facility from the world. The real Cadmus isn't on the grid! It generates it's own power, with these - things. Must be what they're bred for."

I stepped lightly over to one of the orbs. I placed my hand on it, hoping to feel some sort of way to remember them - store them in the quake-bank. Absolutely no emotion or feeling radiated from them, just their weight. _This is wrong. _My fist curled on the glass. "Cadmus - I've heard that before, now that I think about it."

"Of course. Even the name is a clue. The Cadmus of myth created a new race by sowing dragon's teeth into the earth." Aqualad brought back memories of English class.

"And this Cadmus creates new life too." Robin quipped. I walked away from the orbs, back towards the others. "Let's find out why." He was at the computers, using a cord to connect his holoscreen to one of Cadmus's.

"They call 'em genomorphs. Woah, look at the stats on these things." He clicked through the profiles, taking a quick glance at each of them. "Superstrength, telepathy, razor claws - these are living weapons!"

"They're engineering an army. But for who?" Kid Flash leaned over Robin's shoulder, looking down at the holoscreen.

"I've got a better question - for _what?_" I leaned over Robin's other shoulder.

"Wait - there's something else. Project Kr."

I felt a series of rumbles and quivers in the earth. "Someone - or something's coming." I turned around, bracing myself. The tips of my wings slid out.

Aqualad urged Robin as Kid took a fighting stance beside me. "Hurry."

"Ugh, the file's triple-encrypted. I can't-"

"Don't move!"

A muscular man wearing a gold helmet ran in, with a herd of more gray creatures behind him. One baby sat on his shoulder, while the others used their claw-like hands to leap on crates and walls. Surprise ran through me, but not my own; I could've sighed with relief. _Not everything here is stony-eyed._

"Wait. Robin? A-Aqualad, Valiant, Kid Flash?"

"Least he got your name right." Robin snickered at Kid. Part of me wanted to smack him upside the head. A potential enemy just ran in with more of those...genomorphs, that looked like they could shred us into ribbons, and he was joking and _still_ hacking. His face turned serious as he looked back at the man who knew our names though. The rest of me forgave him.

"I know you." Aqualad narrowed his eyes. "Guardian. A hero."

"I do my best."

"Then what are you doing here?" Kid stared accusingly at Guardian.

"I think that's my question. I'm chief of security; you're trespassing. But we can call the Justice League, figure this out." He crossed his arms, the genomorphs around him waving their tails antagonisingly.

"You think the League's gonna approve of you breeding weapons?"

"_I_ know they won't." There was a hint of a snarl in my voice. Anger wavered through me, and this time it _was_ my own.

"Weapons?" Confusion hit me, hard. "What are you - What have I-?" Shame, disbelief...The baby genomorph's horns shone red. And then there was no emotion from him at all, simply him being there. "Ugh, my head..." He squeezed his eyes shut, gripping his forehead in pain.

_What's going on? _I was more than a little freaked out by this place.

"Take 'em down hard. No mercy!" He shouted, his eyes snapping open. The genomorphs lept towards us, hissing and growling in their own language.

My wings slid out at record speed, heightened by rage and andrenaline. Robin darted in front of us, throwing a smoke bomb to the ground.

I coughed, whirling around, searching for the others, when a genomorph nearly fell on top of me. I cawed as he tried to claw me, my own razors spreading out from their usual wing shape into lethal blades.

I heard the shot of a grapping hook, and the weight of a certain bird leave the ground. _Where are you going? _I bared my teeth and fought against the genomorph even harder, knocking it out with a swift hit to the head. Bracing my forefeet, I tried to use vibrations to tell me what was happening. _I can't! There's just too much going on for me to pinpoint exact weights!_

I was ready to fly out of there and just find Robin, when I spotted Aqualad recieving a hard blow from Guardian. I came up from behind, knocking the "hero"'s legs out from under him before leaping towards my Atlantean friend.

I helped him up. "I heard Robin leaving. We have to-" A thunk from behind knocked my breath out before I could register the change in the earth. I gasped, unable to breath for a moment as dark spots blurred my vision.

_I will _not _pass out on my first solo mission!_ I whirled around to face my attacker, only to see Aqualad electrocuting Guardian. The security chief fell back to the ground unconsious, the baby genomorph on his shoulder splayed out behind him.

I breathed heavily, getting ready to jump back in and find Kid, when he ran out from the smoke. Aqualad followed him, with me right behind. I flapped my wings to get short bursts of flight.

Ever time my feet touched the ground, no matter how fast I was, I could feel with terror the genomorphs after us.

_I don't like being chased!_

A bright red alarm rang loudly through the air as we turned through the hallways, finally finding Robin hacking at some elevator.

Aqualad stopped as I ran on, Kid already next to Robin. I hit the brakes, part of my wings sliding in. With wide eyes I watched the genomorphs get closer and closer.

"Aqualad!"

He turned around and ran, and reassured, I followed him.

"Way to be a team player, Rob!" Kid shouted over the blare of the alarm.

"Weren't you right behind me?" Robin asked innocently as the elevator doors opened.

They ran in, and putting on a burst of speed Aqualad leapt in. At the last second I wedged between the closing doors, the genomorphs on my tail. I heard them thumping against the elevator as my breathing slowed.

"That was too close." _I hate being underground. _I realized that it was much more humid down here. The air was thicker than what I was used to, harder for me to breathe in than thin sky air.

"Losing your touch?" Robin snickered. I glared at him.

"We're headed down?" Aqualad's deep voice rang inside the metallic elevator.

"Dude, out is up." Kid pointed to the ceiling.

"Excuse me? Project Kr? It's down, on sublevel 52."

"This is out of control." Aqualad rubbed his neck. Panic, curiosity, anger, fear..._Just a few of the quakes in this tiny elevator._

"What do you think we should do then?" I asked softly.

He turned toward me, his silver eyes serious. "Perhaps...perhaps we should contact the League."

No one said anything. I didn't want to; I wanted to prove that us "sidekicks" could hold our own.

_But we haven't been doing a very good job so far._

A quiet _ding! _broke our thoughts. The elevator doors opened to reveal a strange, gummy pink hallway.

I stepped out first, the others letting me so I could feel for safety.

My eyes widened. I braced my legs further apart, balancing on my extra-sensitive forefeet.

"Come out here, for just a second." I turned my head towards Kid. He shrugged his shoulders and walked out on the squishy floor.

My eyes got even wider. "I can't feel anything. And it's not like no one's here; I mean, I can't feel any tremors at _all_. Not even from you."

I felt like crying. I didn't know if I was happy or afraid. It'd been three years since I'd felt the ground like this. Three years since Endeavour taught me the how to pay attention to things small, things that once I noticed, I couldn't ignore.

_It is like your heartbeat. You don't even think about it. But once you know of it, you stop, you listen, and you can_ feel _it._

"Well, we are already here." Kid shrugged again, and Robin ran out of the elevator, nudging me. I knew he was just trying to be comforting. I followed him warily.

Carefully we ducked and dodged, hiding behind machinery. I kept expecting my legs to shiver. It was disorienting.

"Which way?" I heard Aqualad whisper as he crouched next to Robin. I hid beside Kid.

"Yeah. Bizarre-looking hallway one or bizarre-looking hallway two?"

"Halt!" A strange voice nearly made me leap out of my skin. _Now I know why birds are so jittery._

A very skinny genomorph stood in front of us, tall yellow horns sprouting out from it's head. It raised an arm, it's horns and eyes glowing crimson.

Two barrels floated midair before flying toward us. _He's a telekinetic!_

I jumped out of the range of the barrels, my wings sliding out again. They hit the wall behind us, exploding into fiery light, illuminating the shady sublevel 52.

Robin flung a birdarang at him before he ran into the second hallway, following the rest of us. I heard another explosion behind me. The birdarang must not've helped.

Kid superspeed ahead, and I let out my wings a bit further. He rounded the hallway out of sight.

Breathing heavily, I felt myself start to choke. _The air...so thick._

"Are you all right?" Aqualad ran alongside me.

"Underground air...I-I'm built for a thinner atmosphere." I wheezed.

"I understand."

A yelp in front of us caught my attention. We turned the corner to see a woman in a white lab coat on the ground. The door to Project Kr was closing.

Kid grabbed a metallic tube, grunting at it's weight as he shoved in between the closing doors. "Hurry!"

Robin and I leapt in quickly. I glanced behind me to see Guardian and the genomorphs on our trail. Aqualad kicked the tube outwards and the door closed, going from green to red.

I shook my head, trying to catch my breath. I felt awfully dizzy.

Robin was at the computer, hacking away. "I disabled the doors. We're safe."

"We're trapped." Aqualad countered.

"Uh, guys?" Kid stood at a podium, his back towards us. "You'll wanna see this." He pressed a blue button, and the lights around us dimmed.

The light in front of us brightened, to show-

_No!_

Rage, hatred, anger, disgust...all my own.

"Whoa." Robin breathed.

In front of us, trapped inside glass, was a teenaged boy. Dressed in white, with an "S" shield on his chest, he appeared to be asleep. Clearly labeled on the glass was "Kr."

"Big K, little r. The atomic symbol for krypton!" Kid walked up to the glass container. "A clone?"

"Robin, hack." Aqualad commanded.

"Oh, r-right, right." Robin said dazedly, typing away at his holoscreen. "Weapon designation Superboy. A clone force grown in...sixteen weeks!" He exclaimed, his eyes wider than before. "From DNA acquired from Superman."

"Stolen from Superman." Aqualad corrected.

"No way the big guy knows about this."

"Solar suit allows him to absorb yellow sun radiation 24/7." Robin kept reading, as though none of them had spoken.

"And these...creatures?" Aqualad pointed at the genomorphs, which I hadn't noticed, balanced in little pods above Superboy.

"Genomorph gnomes. Telepathic. Force-feeding him an education."

"And we can guess what else. They're making a slave out of, well, Superman's son."

My back was to them. I could hear every word they were saying.

"Now we contact the League." Aqualad's voice issued the direct order this time.

I pressed the comm in my ear, a little too hard. Nothing.

"No signal." Robin sighed.

"We're in too deep. Literally."

* * *

><p>Being angry wasn't something that happened to me often. I just...didn't get angry. But finding Superboy filled me up with something dark and ugly.<p>

_Calm. You can't think straight with anger clouding up your thoughts. _I closed my eyes, sighing.

"This is wrong." Kid breathed, looking back at Superboy.

"We can't leave him like this-" Robin began, but I interrupted him.

"No, we can't. But right now we're in a lot of trouble. I'm not sure it's the best time to save someone who's drowning when we're drowning ourselves." I looked at Aqualad, hoping for him to understand. Every part of me was screaming, _Help him! _but this wasn't the time.

Robin stared at me, surprised. He was the only one who knew about my own past with "genetic weapon-making". I stared right back at him. _Emotion is rarely the controlling factor in the hero business. Usually your head is._

Aqualad hestitated before answering. "Set him free. Do it."

Robin obliged, and I breathed a little easier. I was still worried though. _How are we gonna get out of this mess?_

The glass containment hissed as it opened. Superboy's eyes remained closed. I heard the cracking of knuckles and saw that he had flexed his hand.

My wings crept out a half-inch.

Superboy's eyes flashed as they opened. Empty ice-blue, almost exactly like Superman's.

Like lightning he snarled and lunged at Aqualad. I squawked in shock as he punched the Atlantean.

In a flash Kid held onto his right arm, Robin his left, and I covered his sight. _Too strong! _I gritted my teeth as I held onto his forehead, keeping my arms over his eyes.

"Whoa, hang on Supey!"

"We're on your side!"

"Listen to us, we're getting you out of here!" I tried to explain as he hit Kid clear across the room and into a glass alembic. He didn't get back up.

"I don't wanna do this!" Robin whipped out a smoke bomb. I let go a moment before he hit Superboy with it full-on the mouth, but some of the inhalant caught in my throat.

I coughed, hardly able to breath as my vision swam. He hardly breathed. In the distraction of the smoke, Aqualad swiftly kicked him in the chest, and the last thing I felt was Superboy's figure collide into me from the front, and the podium crash from behind.

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><p><strong>TA-DA!<strong>

**Review please. This chapter took three days to write. :D Whew!**


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